Cerulean Flecked Gold: Avatar Chronicles
by KhaleesiStormborn
Summary: Being Re-written. Lara Sully has had to deal with death her entire life. But when her brother Tommy dies, she is sent to another planet to partake in a science experiment called 'The Avatar Program'. Then she meets the Na'vi, and things start to change.
1. Chapter 1: Sibling Trauma

Chapter 1: Sibling Trauma

_I can't escape this hell_  
_So many times i've tried_  
_But i'm still caged inside_  
_Somebody get me through this nightmare_  
_I can't control myself_

Animal I Have Become - Three Days Grace.

* * *

Standing in the middle of Los Angeles with my brother, I stared at the people around us. They were chatting mindlessly, their bodies relaxed as they waited for the light to shine green. My body stood rigid and straight, a hand on my sibling's wheelchair. Jake was disabled, all because of an accident I could've prevented.

At twenty-two years old, I had faced things that these people could only endure during their nightmares. It was hard sometimes, to take care of my brother and take care of myself. Sometimes I didn't even care about my wellbeing to take care of Jake. Maybe it was guilt, or maybe it was just pure love and worry for him.

Tommy was our other brother, Jake's twin. They were polar opposites, apart from their looks. Tommy and I were going to a new planet for a program called Avatar transfer. Jake was going to stay here in LA by himself, something that I wasn't too sure about. But he had reassured me countless times, which sort of settled me down.

The light flashed green and before I could assist my brother, he pushed himself with his hands across the street. If there was any other resemblance to Tommy, it was their stubbornness. I guess all Sully's had it. After a couple more lights we reached our apartment, a small thing that was about the size of a prison cell.

It didn't really matter; we were never really in the room much. The room consisted of a single bed, a pull out couch, a mini fridge and a bathroom. Clothes were everywhere, along with empty pizza boxes and half-eaten food that I'm sure is mouldy and out of date by months. I walked over to the Television and turned it on, tying my light brown hair into a ponytail.

"The Bengal tiger, extinct for over a century, is making a comeback. These cloned tiger cubs at the Beijing Zoo are..." I could feel my eyes roll, thinking about the Genetic Mutation in today's society. Back when I was little, it was a mere experimentation but now, it was a natural scientific investment that just kept on expanding.

Dumbasses.

I heard my brother struggling and worry overcame me. "Hey, Jake! Do you want some help?" I called out to him, eyes on the cracked bedroom door.

"No, I can do this on my own. Okay?" He replied with a tone of slight annoyance. Jake hated it when I mothered over him, but come on, I was his younger, yet more mature, sister.

Biting my lip, I said, "Ok, but if you need me, just call."

He was rolling his eyes; I knew it.

I changed into a black shirt and turned the Television off as Jake wheeled out of his 'room.'

"You ready?" He asked quietly.

I nodded and picked a random jacket off of the floor, holding the door open for my brother. Chilvary is never dead. After locking the door, we headed down to the pub.

Let me just say, it was not somewhere where normal, actually happy people go.

I walked over to the bar and ordered two tequila shots. You could never come to Ernie's without buying Tequila. My brother also liked to show off. So, as I brought his drink to him, he balanced the shot on his forehead and lifted his wheels slightly off the ground, balancing himself and the precious alcohol.

Onlookers – of course – started to cheer and whoop for him. It was the norm for us, cheer at Jake, we get thrown out, we come back.

Endless cycles.

As he took the shot off his forehead I raised mine with a smirk, and we downed it with a gulp. The TV was on view in front of us, well it was in front of everyone really for something the size of a wall. It played the Antelopeon Soccer Team, winning the final season. I watched as jealousy clouded Jake's eyes as he watched the screen, and immediately felt guilty once more.

If I hadn't have been watching my back for one second, Jake would've never been paralysed. If I had been more careful, he would still have his strong, healthy legs.

_We were fighting in Venezuela. Our side was winning and – being me – I got too excited and ran through the enemies, shooting them left and right. They were down in seconds. __That's the only reason why I was allowed to fight with the big guys. _

_I wasn't looking behind me, nor in front, until finally I heard Jake yell out to me, "Lara, watch out!" _

_And it wasn't until I heard a gunshot and someone collapsed on top of me that I knew something was wrong. __My eyes found the clear, blue eyes of my brother. They were tearing up in anguish, and his face contorted in pain. _

"_What's wrong, Jake?" I asked him worriedly, pushing him gently so he was on his back. _

_He landed on the dirt floor with a gasp of pain, and immediately my mind flicked back to the gunshot, "Did you get hit?"_

_Jake nodded and tears filled my eyes; he took a bullet for me. _

"_I can't feel my legs, Lara," he murmured to me, and that was the downfall of the Sully siblings. _

No matter how many times he reassured me, I still couldn't believe that I wasn't at fault. If I listened, and was a good soldier, Jake wouldn't have been walking fine.

Jake – wait, where'd he go? Damnit!

When I caught notice of him, he was yanking the stool under from a random guy. Idiot. The guy crashed to the floor with a loud bang. Jake hurled out of his wheelchair and jumped on top of the guy, proceeding to beat the holy hell outta him. I rolled my eyes but cheered him on, moving his wheelchair so he could jump right back on. We were probably going to be kicked out, but for whatever reason, it was worth it. I was grabbed and thrown outside along with my brother, the wheelchair landing painfully on my stomach.

I groaned and pushed the wheelchair off of my body, blinking with a slight gasp of pain. That wheelchair must've weighed a ton.

Jake struggled to get up on his elbows, but called out with a loud voice, "I hope you realise you just lost two very valuable customers."

"Damn right, Candy-ass bitch," I muttered, leaning my head against Jake's stomach.

Two shadows fell over us, shiny leather shoes at our level. Gee, I need to ask these guys where they get their shoes shined. I will hook that shit up! I squinted up at the two men. Yep, FBI agents. Should've known, only they have the best private shoe shiner in the world.

"Are you Jake and Lara Sully?" One of them, most likely the good cop, asked.

I could basically feel Jake roll his eyes, "Shove off, you're ruining my good mood."

"It's about your brother."

Oh well then, that's a different story.

* * *

**Yes I'm back and i'm sorry i haven't done this earlier. I had promised to re-write it, so here it is. It's going to be HELLAVU LOT BETTER than the other one, after reading it I literally wanted to set it on fire. The grammer and paragraphs even made me pull my hair out. **

**So I hope you like it, and i'll be adding the next chapter tomorrow. **


	2. Chapter 2: Pandora

Chapter 2: Pandora.

_That is when it seems_  
_We move in circles day to day_  
_Twist the drama of the play to get us by_

_And it feels like fear_  
_Like I'll disappear_  
_Gets so hard to steer_  
_Yet I go on_

_Do we need debate_  
_When it seems too late_  
_Like I bleed but wait_  
_Like nothing's wrong_

Lift - Poets of the Fall

* * *

There were times like this when I really thought that the Big Man hated me. Here I was, staring at my dead brother Tommy, right in the face. He looked so much like Jake, except for Tommy's buzz cut.

The two FBI Agents had taken us to a Crematorium to show us Tommy, stuck in a stainless steel box. He died, not in bravery or war, but an idiot with a knife who only wanted the money in his wallet.

"God, Tommy," I muttered, gripping Jake's hand.

"Your brother presented a significant investment, we'd like to talk to you about taking over his contract," The second agent said, making eye contact with Jake. "Your sister already joined and we need you to take over Thomas' position."

My eyes opened and I took my first breath of air from the cryo-freeze. It was refreshing, and a small smile made it's way on my face as I watched it become visible like a ball of ice. The cryo capsule, or coffin, I was in opened suddenly and the 'bed' slid out.

It left me in the open space of the shuttlecraft we were being transported in, the black straps that were wrapped around my form pulling me down.

Wherever we were at that moment, It was definitely not Earth.

I squinted as the hundreds of the lights turned on, revealing the other cryo-frozen humans in the room that we were being held in through the slits of my eyes. They too slid out from their pods and out into the open.

Chuckles emitted from my throat as I heard the groans from the others – yeah, I feel you.

A Medi Tech swam over to me, smiling like any doctor would.

"Are we there?"I asked, my voice hoarse from the lack of speech. You couldn't blame me, five years without speaking does that to a person.

"We're there, sunshine," He replied with a grin, slowly unstrapping the black pieces of the material so I could move.

The Tech moved away as I floated up. "People, you have been in cryo for five years, nine months and twenty two days," He called up to the rest of the recently awoken people.

Wow.

"You will be hungry, you will be weak. If you feel nausea, please use the sacks provided for your convenience. The staff thanks you in advance."

I floated over to where my sack number and name was labelled, and saw Jake next t0 it. I grinned and gave him a hug as I reached him, "How are you doing, Jake'y boy? Happy to be awake?"

He smiled and hugged me back, "Yeah. It was cool to see my saliva floating in front of my face, too."

Chuckling, I grabbed the sack. I strapped it on my back, and my eyes caught the outside view from the window. The colours outside were breath taking, and I almost gasped by the beauty of it. It was a kaleidoscope of colours, the planets and stars blending together into a magnificant masterpiece.

The planet we were going to was called Polyphemus, ringed with a dozen moons. Our mission was to head to the biggest one, a blue, earth-like planet called Pandora.

At the front of the ship was an army-based structure. We were dropping down slowly into the base at Pandora, Hell's Gates.

The crew chief was stomping down the isle's, screaming, "Exopacks on!"

The air in Pandora was dangerous, and apparently toxic. No oxygen was in the air – a big no for our fragile lungs. Exopacks were these breathing masks, and covered a human's entire face. We were all strapped to the chairs we were in, preventing the gravitational hover that usually happened during space travel.

"Remember people, you lose that mask and you're unconcious in twenty seconds. Dead in four minutes," the chief continued, standing in a rigid stance at the front of the spacecraft.

"Comforting," I mused with a sarcastic smile, eyes on my lap.

Jake chuckled quietly next to me. He seemed to be struggling to put his mask on, which would be proven difficult if he continued to struggle.

I rolled my eyes as he continued to rant, "Let nobody be dead today! It looks bad on my report." He seemed to have seen Jake struggle with his mask. "Exopack on, let's go!"

Ass.

Duffles resting on laps, weary yet brave faces of the other soldiers breathing in the exopacks, we were ready to go. Albeit nervously. I made eye contact with Jake, and gripped his hand through the strap. His wheelchair was on the wall opposite him, so he was level with the rest of us.

"Go directly to the base, do not stop! Go straight inside!" The chief barked, almost glaring at us with his dark eyes.

As soon as the ship landed the rest of the soldiers popped up and left, leaving Jake and I to retrieve his only means of transport. I grabbed the wheelchair and stretched it out, allowing Jake to get himself into the seat.

He would seem 'girl-ish' if I even tried to help. His words, not mine.

"Are you sure you don't want me to wheel you in. You know i'd be happy to," I asked him, raising my brow. He told me I looked like mum with this look.

"By myself," He answered. The response was short, another reason how I knew about his concern of manliness. I rolled my eyes and put his duffle on his lap, strapping my own to my back.

When I got out there there were three things that came to mind. One was that there was a helluva lot of machinery here, two, I was fresh female meat and three, Jake was going to get run over if he didn't watch where he was going.

A tractor around the size equivalent of a three story house almost ran over him, arrows pierced into the tires like they were used for defence. There were VTOL vehicles and Mitsubishi MK-6 Amp suits, machines that were controlled by the soldiers holding massive rotary cannons.

I don't know how they came up with this stuff, but kudos to them. I had already studied all this stuff when I went training with Tommy and, although I wasn't as good as a soldier as him, I was good enough that I was allowed to become apart of the main avatar training with Grace Augustine – the creator of the book on Pandora and the Avatars.

Two buff guys were checking me out and giving Jake the stink eye as we passed.

"What are you limp dicks staring at?" Jake asked bitingly as he rolled by.

The one on the left seemed to sputter a few moments before replying, "Seen a lot of guys leave in wheelchairs, never seen one show up in one." He smirked; as if he had the win.

I rolled my eyes and wiggled my pinky at them, a signal that questioned their 'ego' size. My previous idea was to do the Romeo and Juliet 'bite my thumb' thing, but it seemed too old for it. I entered the main building, clipping off the mask with a sigh.

It was good to breath circulated air conditioned air again.

It wasn't proper oxygen, but it was good enough for me.

"You are not in Kansas anymore," a gruff voice said from within the eating area.

I pushed the glass door open, revealing all the soldiers sitting as if an audience in front of a man. He turned to face us as he spoke, no smile on his face. He was ruggedly handsome in a creepy, old, serial killer sort of way. If you get me. He had buzz cut light blonde hair borderlining grey and cold, ice blue eyes with a bulging array of muscles.

The only distortion was the three long scars that ran from his hairline to the edge of his cheek. Now I recognized him – he was the Colonel. Or Colonel Quaritch to be exact. On his hip was a large pistol, hand just on the barrel as if it was some sort of security blanket.

"You are on Pandora, ladies and gentlemen," he continued, "respect that fact every day." Jake rolled up beside me and nudged my hand to inform me. We watched from the back as the Colonel pointed out to the view of the forest behind us. "Out behind that fence, every living thing that crawls, flies or squats in the mud wants to kill you and use your eyes as juju beads."

I grimaced in sympathy to the people I saw in that mental image. That had got to be painful. The room seemed to be dead silent now, and the corners of my lips lifted as I realised that people were doubtful of their decision.

Serves them right.

"We have an indigenous population of humanoids here called the Na'vi. They're fond of arrows dipped in neurotoxins, which can stop your heart in one minute. We operate, we live, at a constant threat condition yellow," Quaritch told us with a cold smile.

"As head of security, it's my job to keep you all alive. I will not succeed," he paused for effect, "not with all of you. If you wish to survive, you need to have a strong mental attitude and you need to follow the procedure..." he continued to drone on.

_Nothing like old school safety briefs, _I mused to myself.

* * *

**This is so not tomorrow. Haha Sorry, I've just been having MORE friendship bla's and FINALLY getting to see my BEST FRIEND EVER! Hahaha so I hoped you liked this :)**


	3. Chapter 3: Big Words

_It's a new day, but it all feels old _  
_It's a good life, that's what I'm told _  
_But every day, it all just feels the same_

_At my high school, it felt more to me_  
_Like a jail cell, a penitentiary_  
_My time spent there it only made me see_  
_That I don't ever wanna be like you_  
_I don't wanna do the things you do_  
_I'm never gonna hear the words you say_  
_And I don't ever wanna, I don't ever wanna be_

**The Anthem - Good Charlotte.**

Chapter 3: Big Words.

Half an hour later, Jake and I were shuffling through all the other new recruits with duffels in hand. My eyes, however, kept shifting behind me where a young man seemed to be following us eagerly. He looked sort of familiar; I may have done Avatar training with him along with Tommy.

"Yeah, you're Jake right? Tom's brother?" The guy asked as he caught up with us. He reminded me of a adorable, yet dorky guy. "You look just like him."

Oh – ouch. Bad call.

Jake glared at him. As if he didn't have enough to live up to.

I decided to intervene. "Spellman, right?" I said.

"Norm," he filled in for me with a blush and smile.

I gave him an easy smile, "Oh yeah, you're the Xenoanthropologist."

He nodded with another bright blush. I could tell he had no experience with the female gender, it was just a guess.

"Yeah."

"You, ah, did the Avatar training with Tommy and me, yeah? I thought I recognised you," I continued with another grin. I turned to Jake, "This is Norm Spellman, he was with Tommy and me during the training."

Norm shook Jake's hand. "He was a great guy, funny. It was a big shock to all of us," He said, a bright smile on his lips. We flanked my brother as he continued, "Duh. Obviously you look like him and all. I mean, if you weren't genetically identical, you wouldn't have been able to take his avatar."

"That's why I'm here," Jake replied, rolling through the corridors.

"So, do you want to go check it out?" Norm questioned, almost bouncing in his step. I bet he still lived with parent's and played video games in the basement. But that was my assumption.

"Sure," I said, shrugging. I wanted to see my avatar, and what I looked like as a native.

Jake smiled slightly at me, and nodded in agreement.

We entered the Bio-lab, a large lab complex with a load of of rooms. The technology in this place was amazing. One of the scientists were looking over three shipping tanks. The one closest to us looked exactly like Tommy, well, Jake. There was blood circulating through a synthetic umbilical cord into the blue creature's abdomen.

The creature had cyan-blue skin and a lemur like tail with long black hair tyed together on the head in a braided ponytail.

"Damn, they got big," I exclaimed, eyes widening.

Norm chuckled, "Yeah, they mature on the trip out. So the proprioceptive Sims worked out pretty well."

A scientist walked up to us, warm chocolate eyes smiling at me. For a scientist, 'Max' already looked cool.

"Yeah, they've got great muscle tone. Give us a few hours; you guys can take 'em for a swim," Max said and turned to me. "Miss Sully, would you like to see your Avatar?"

I nodded enthusiastically and he walked me over to the end pod. Like Jake's, the female avatar had blue skin and black hair in a braided ponytail. Except the females skin seemed a bit darker and the waist a little skinnier than it already was. These ten foot tall natives really had a strange skeletal structure.

Tall yet lithe stances with skinny waists and feline ears, flat noses and tails.

After being introduced to our avatar's we were sent to the computers where Max told us to video log the first day. I offered for Jake to go first, because I really didn't know how do do one.

"Is this right? I just say whatever in these video logs?" Jake asked us as he spoke into the computer.

Norm nodded and replied, "Yeah. You just need to get in the habit of documenting everything. What you see, what you feel, it's all part of the science. Good science starts with good observation. Now hurry up, Lara still needs to do hers."

"Great," I said sarcastically, rolling my eyes.

"Right. Okay," Jake said before turning back to the computer. "So whatever, here I am, doing science, never been in a lab before."

"Okay log off," Max ordered, "it's Lara's turn, and then you get to meet your boss for the next five years."

I logged into the computer and brought up the camera, pursing my lips. "So," I said, glancing around the room a bit, "okay, um, my brother is filling in for my other brother, Tommy, because he died and they needed a genetically identical bloodline. Enough about my brothers...uh, this is harder than I thought. This is my first day here, and i'm, ah, really excited to become my avatar."

"Okay log off, it's time," Max told me. I nodded and logged off, excited about meeting the boss.

Max led us through a short corridor and into the 'link room'. Oh boy. Nerves from high school and meeting a new boss for a job came bounding back. I wrung my hands together and followed the three males, biting my bottom lip.

We entered the link room, a large room filled with machines that resemble a cross between coffins and MRI scanners. I think they're called Psionic Units, or something like that.

_What is it with these people and coffins, _I thought to myself.

"Grace Augustine is a legend," Norm explained excitedly. "She's the head of the avatar program, and she wrote the book – I mean, literally wrote the book on Pandoran Botany."

Max smirked. "That's because she likes plants better than people," he told us.

I laughed.

One of the 'coffins' opened, revealing a woman probably in her early 50's with fiery red hair. She had a strong face and jaw, and she seemed to be a little cold even without me meeting her yet.

"Where is my goddamn cigarette?" She yelled, getting out of the transferrer to storm about the place.

So that was Grace Augustine, I guessed.

A Tech woman shakily handed a lit cigarette to Dr. Augustine as she stood board still. Apparently when she says jump, they say, "how high?" A scowl was on the doctor's face as we walked towards her.

"And there she is, cinderella from the ball," Max said with a bounce, obviously trying to lighten the mood. "Grace, I'd like you to meet Lara Sully, Norm Spellman and Ja-"

Grace cut him off, "Norm, I hear good things about you. How's your Na'vi?"

"_'Awvea ultxari ohengeyä, nawma sa'nok lrrtok siveiyi," _Norm said in Na'vi to Grace.

She nodded approvingly, a criticising look on her face. "_Tsun tivam. Aylì'u ngian nì'it skepek lu," _She replied.

"_Zìsìt amrr ftolia ohe, slä zene fko nivume nìtxan." _

I furrowed my brow at them, wishing that I at least new Na'vi. I didn't want them insulting me the entire time.

Max cleared his throat and said, "Uh Grace, this is Jake Su-"

"Yeah, yeah, I know who you are and I don't need you. I need your brother," Grace rolled her eyes and gave Max a cold, calculating glare. "You know – the PhD who trained for three years for this mission."

I clenched my teeth. "He's dead," I told her with an almost sarcastic smile. "I'm sorry if that's such an inconvenience for you and everyone."

She rolled her eyes and ignored me, turning to Jake, "How much lab training have you had? Ever run a gas chromatograph?"

"No," Jake replied with a shrug.

"Any actual lab work at all?"

"High school chemistry. But I ditched."

Grace rolled her eyes once more and turned to me, "Lara Sully. I recognise you from the training. Good soldier from what i've heard. How's your Na'vi language? And research on the planet?"

I shrugged, "I had to leave training before I even learnt the language. But I know enough to be able to do this."

She glanced at Jake once more before rounding onto Max. "You see? They're pissing on us without even the courtesy of calling it rain." She turned away. "I'm going to Selfridge." Grace shoved past me, knocking my shoulder.

"Grace, that's, uh, not such a good idea," Max called out to her.

He was promptly ignored.

Max turned towards Jake and I. Well, mostly Jake with a pained look. "Here tomorrow, eight oh hundred hours. Try to use big words," He added hastily and walked off.

I said goodbye to Norm and Jake and I walked off.

We spent that night with me teaching Jake 'big words' to use the next day.

* * *

**I hoped you liked it :) **

**Oh yeah, and I was just wondering...are you enjoying this rewritten version, or do you think you should shoot me for deleting the other one..? **

**I have baked a fresh batch of imaginary cookies and if you press that pretty green button, that imaginary chocolate chip cookie will be yours! Haha**

**xx**


	4. Chapter 4: Painting Flowers

_Strange maze, what is this place?_  
_I hear voices over my shoulder,_  
_Nothing's making sense at all._  
_Wonder, why do we race?_  
_When everyday we're runnin' in circles,_  
_Such a funny way to fall._  
_Tried to open up my eyes,_  
_I'm hopin' for a chance to make it alright._

_When I wake up,_  
_the dream isn't done._  
_I wanna see your face,_  
_and know I made it home._  
_If nothing is true,_  
_What more can I do?_  
_I am still painting flowers for you._

* * *

Chapter 5: Painting flowers to run

The next morning the four of us: Grace, Norm, Jake and I were back in the link room, positioned in front of our link units. In the adjoining chamber our three avatars were on gurneys with MedTechs wearing exomasks.

Norm was already sticking the sensors to his body, sitting inside the units with a bright smile on his adorable, geeky face.

"How much Link time have you logged?" Grace asked Norm with a raised brow.

"Five hundred and twenty hours," was his reply.

She nodded and moved over to Jake and I.

"Like a couple of hours," Jake said with a sheepish smile.

"Tell me your joking."

Nope.

Grace brought her attention to me and I told her, "one hundred and thirty hours." I turned to Jake with a smile. "I'm going to my unit now. See ya on the other side, Jake."

I stuck my finger in the jelly like substance of the material in the unit, grinning like an idiot as the jelly pushed itself back up to diminish any evidence of touching it. I brought myself into a sleeping position, pulling the sensors down on top of my body and waited for Grace to pull the lid down.

"Relax and let your mind go blank," Grace said to me, smiling slightly.

I nodded and breathed deeply, watching as the area around me went black. As the claustrophobia set in I relaxed my shoulders and allowed my mind to go blank as my eyes screwed shut.

I could feel my eyes move under the shut lids, begging to see what was going on. But I held the urge back, because I knew if I opened my eyes during this the link would be shut off and it would be over. In my mind I saw radiant streamers of colour coalesce into a pulsing tunnel. Everything was a light blur.

Soon enough my eyes opened, every sight a blur as I stared with – hopefully – new eyes. As my eyesight came slowly into focus I lifted my hands and sat up, staring at my long, blue body with a grin.

I could only imagine what I look like.

With another large smile I wiggled my fingers and toes, revelling in the movement that replied. It was so cool! It was as though I was in my true body. I turned my body and prepared to sit up.

One of the medtechs put her hand on my thigh. Woah, she was really small.

"Calm down, Lara. Just try taking it easy...touch your fingertips together."

I did as she said, pressing the pads of the tips of my fingers with child-like wonder. I could feel something spurt out of my back and I gripped the object, bringing it around so I could see it. It was a tail.

I had a tail.

Cool.

It felt strange to be in this body, to be so high. It was as though I was placed on someone's shoulders and had to see the view from there. I turned my head so I could see myself in the glass reflection.

A flat, feline like nose, cat ears, cyan skin and large, pale gold eyes. My hair was long and black, brought into a plaited ponytail that reached my lower back.

"Lara?" I heard from behind me.

Jake looked cool, all blue and what not. His skin was a bit lighter than mine, though. But there was one thing that confused me. He was standing up! No help needed. It was a miracle.

Maybe because they were in Tommy's body and didn't have the same problem that human's do, he gained the right to walk.

"I feel great. Come on, Lara," he continued, moving himself to go out the door.

I nodded and ripped the IV from my wrist, ignoring the sting that came from the action. Pushing past the MedTech's I followed my brother out the door and into the open. The area around us was like a training compound area, avatars playing games and laughing about.

We raced past avatars playing one-on-one basketball and jumped past random machinery. I jumped and landed on another part of the area, waiting for Jake to do the same.

"Hey, i'll race ya," I challenged as he reached the spot next to me. He nodded and we were off. We raced passed everybody, nothing in front of us would stop the race.

Finally we stopped at the Garden, where all the alien plants were situated for research. I took a deep breath of hair, taking in the alien air and foreign odours of my surroundings. Jake was beside me, a serene expression on his face as his toes wiggled through the soil. I could tell he was happy to be able to run, let alone walk. His happiness made me happy.

"Hey Marines!" A familiar voice called from in front of us. Grace's avatar came strutting before us, looking about twenty years younger and 'hot'.

I raised my brow in shock, "Grace?"

Grace smiled – well, more like smirked. "Well who'd you expect, Numb nuts? Think fast," she said, throwing native fruits our way. I took a bite and allowed the purple liquid to run down my chin as I continued to eat it. "Motor control is looking good, the both of ya."

"Hey, check it out!" The 'nerdy' voice of Norm exclaimed behind us. I turned and saw him in a body builders pose, flexing and displaying his muscles. "I am a living god."

I chucked and pressed my hand against his chest, pushing him back a couple of pases. "Whatever you say," I commented teasingly.

"This is fantastic!" Jake exclaimed, grinning like an idiot.

"I know," I agreed, staring at the beautiful forest around us.

"Come on, I'll show you where your Avatar will be sleeping," Grace announced before heading off towards the direction of the hut she had previously come out from.

I shrugged and followed after her, along with Jake and Norm, into the large hut. It was almost like a small house, filled with many other Avatar drivers were settling into the cots as they pulled insect netting around themselves. I sat cross-legged on an empty bed, running my hand over the large braid on my avatar body. As I gripped the end of it, it opened into a band of pink feelers, writhing like sea anemones.

"That is so weird," I muttered to myself, watching the feelers swirl together. I bit my lip and let the braid go to lay down comfortably on the bed. It was actually quite comfortable for an army base cot for alien drivers.

"Light's out, Amigos! See you at dinner," Grace called and turned off the lights.

My eyes stayed open for a little bit, listening to the calls of the nature inside the Pandorean forest. Finally, the sleep beat itself against my eyes and I gave in, falling asleep within moments.

As soon as I closed my eyes as my avatar, they opened into the link bed. I sighed.

"Same ol' Lara Sully. Fun," I murmured, pulling off the sensors and opened the lid.

I looked over at Jake and saw the disappointed look on his face. Biting my lip, I went over and flanked him as we headed off to dinner.


	5. Chapter 5: We're like Gambit, bitches!

_See me ride out of the sunset  
__On your colour TV screen  
__Out for all that I can get__If you know what I mean  
__Women to the left of me  
__And women to the right  
__Ain't got no gun  
__Ain't got no knife  
__But don't you start no fight__'_

__

Cause I'm T.N.T. I'm dynamite

T.N.T - AC/DC

_T.N.T. and I'll win the fight  
__T.N.T. I'm a power load  
__T.N.T. watch me explode_

* * *

Chapter 5: We're like Gambit, bitches!

The next day, it was time for our mission. Underneath my composed expression, I was jumping up and down like a little school girl. I was excited, and Jake knew so. He decided to tease me about it ever since we woke up.

"So, what did Attila the Hun want?" I asked Jake curiously, crossing my arms over my chest.

"Just marines comparin' tattoos," he replied, shrugging.

I scoffed, "Please. If he wanted to talk to a marine with tattoos, he should've come to me. I have more tattooes than both of you." It was true though, there was around fiteen – twenty tattoos on my body so far, I'm pretty sure. I flexed my arms, showing off my tattoos that laced around my upper arms and shoulders through the material of my t-shirt.

"Listen to me, _Marine,"_ Grace warned, and gave Jake a pointed look, "you're driving an avatar now. That means you're in my world, got it?"

"Got it," Jake replied curtly.

We finally entered the Link Room. Grace immediately started to yell and order.

"That son of a bitch has screwed up this program enough. All this," she indicated around the room, "exists so we can go out there and build a bridge of trust to these people, who could teach us so much. But thanks to Quaritch and his thugs the Na'vi won't even talk to us anymore."

"Uh, excuse me, Grace?" I interuppted. "If what you said was true, then how is this mission going to work?"

"We have a new face," Grace responded smoothly and turned to Norm. "You're fluent, you've studied the culture. You're non-threatening. The ones we know best, the _Omaticaya _clan, may give you a chance. Maybe you can get them back to the table before things go tits-up for good."

"This is failing as a pep-talk," Norm muttered to himself. I barely hid the laughter as I made my way over to Jake's link bed and hauled him into it.

"How do we contact them?" Jake asked Grace.

She didn't stop configuring his link bed as she replied, ""They contact us. If they see us taking our samples, treating the forest with respect." she took a glance at Jake and I, "not trampling everything in sight, they may reach out to us."

"Or they may skin us," Jake finalised, "and make a drum with their remains."

"Hey, maybe they'll make drumsticks with our arms and legs. Make a band, and what not. We can have our first Na'vi Beatles."

"Lara, shut up," Jake said flatly, but his eyes held amusement.

I rolled my eyes, headed over to my link bed, and sat down. The sensor bed was actually very nice to lay in, and quite flexible to the body.

"Just keep your mouth shut and let Norm do the talking, alright?" Grace told me sternly and slammed the lid shut. I winced at the noise and shut my eyes.

As I closed them, I could see the familiar radiant streamers coalesce into a pulsing tunnel of light as my brain linked with my avatar body.

Within minutes we were flying over the forest of Pandora, dipping and swirling through the vast expansion of flora.

"Wow, look at this place," I breathed to Trudy, the driver of the Samson. We had become friends before the flight, and were becoming closer. She was pretty cool.

My avatar was now out of it's hospital gown and I was now wearing shorts, a black tank top, boots and a jacket similar to Trudy's. But, because of the heat, it was unbuttoned and rolled up to my elbows.

Trudy smirked and hummed in agreement, swirving her 'baby' to the left. I grinned and moved to the back of the plane, where the other three avatars were. Wainfleet, who I bumped into before my linking and almost slapped him when he stared at my anatomy, leaned against his doorgun in boredom as if this was nothing.

Dumbass, I thought to myself, rolling my eyes. This place was amazing! I was absolutely gobsmacked when we went airborn into the forest – Grace had to drag me away from the doors just incase I fell out.

The ground below suddenly left us as Trudy banked the Samson hard, sending it down vertically. Weinfleet and I whooped joyfully as Norm clenched his stomach in disgust.

"Yo Chacon! Get some!" Weinfleet yelled, laughing.

I grinned – he may have been a douchebag, but that comment made me smile.

Forty five minutes later, we arrived in a small clearing in the forest. It was a small meadow within the towering trees. The grass was like ferns, and was beaten down by the Samson as it landed. I grabbed my large door-gun and stepped off Trudy's baby with it raised like an ordinary rifle.

I only lowered it when Trudy's Sampson turned off. Weinfleet was heading off to the plane, leaving only Norm, Trudy, Jake and myself.

"Stay with the ship," Grace ordered the shoulder and glanced over at Jake. "One trigger happy moron is enough."

As long as she wasn't picking on me I was very happy.

We entered the forest and immediately it engulfed us in a cyan gloom. The shadows looked alive, and seemed to move with the sounds of the forest. It was as if every molecule in the forest was alive, every plant, animal and rock moved with it's own beat and life.

Jake apparently wasn't having the same reaction as I. He was walking through the forest like a fucking tourist in hell and it was starting to make me feel like one, too. It was as if the shadows hid hell itself.

"Relax, bro," I said cheerfully.

"Yeah, you're making me nervous," Grace commented, glancing at Jake with a raised eyebrow.

As Jake passed a pretty, green plant, it's leaves spread out and reached it's tendrils towards him. I chuckled softly and stopped at the plant, allowing it to reach out and touch my hand. I waited until it loosened until I ran after my brother, Grace and Norm, jumping over rocks and vines. This was a serious workout, I noted, they should've done this back at Earth.

After an hour we finally reached the plants Grace wanted to get samples of. Norm, ever the teachers pet, sat next to Grace and did the sample work with her.

"I'm bored, wanna search the place?" I asked, leaning my gun against my thigh.

Jake sighed and said, "Sure. Better than waiting here."

I pushed through the plants until I reached a clearing of orange, spiraled plants. Cocking my head, I stared at the plants with great interest. I remembered the name – something about helicopters or something like that...Helicoradians!

Jake pushed past me and brushed one of them softly.

Shtoonk!

It vanished away into a small tube in the ground. I nudged my brother and gave him a child-like grin, motioning towards the plants. He nodded, and the shtoonking began. We attacked the plants like children playing with pins at a balloon party, and they sunk as quickly as we tapped them.

A sound vibrated through the hair, reminding me of a low growl, and the plants sunk like a chain reaction. As the plants sunk, it revealed a creature that resembled a heavily armed rhinoceros, six-legged and twice the size. On it's massive, low-slung head it had a large barrier of bone that reminded me of a hammerhead shark.

It's menacing, gold eyes locked onto the two of us. Jake and I raised our rifles.

"Don't shoot. You'll piss him off," Grace told us through her throat mike.

The bull bellowed and lowered it's wide sledge hammer of a skull towards us.

"Um, it's very pissed off already, Grace," I yelled back at her, still not taking my eyes off of the creature. "If you haven't already noticed, that is!"

"The armour's too thick. Trust me," she explained.

I bit my lip, lowered my gun, and pulled Jake back. The bull bellowed once more and pawed at the earth like a bull ready to charge.

"It's a territory threat display. Do not run or he'll charge."

"Great, sounds fun. So, what do we do?" Jake yelled, lowering his gun quickly.

"Hold your ground."

Fuck.

The bull roared and slammed it's head into the trees that were in the way before charging at us. After a quick glance at each other we ran foreward, spreading our arms towards the thing, raising our voices to intimidate it. It stopped aruptly after letting out a large moan.

I look a deep breath, amazed that the gambit worked.

"Hell yeah, it worked! That's how we do, bitch!" I yelled, doing The King dance move. "We're like Gambit, bitches! What you gonna do?"

"Oh, yeah! Who's bad? We are, baby," Jake continued and gave me a high five. "That's right, motherfu-"

That was until we discovered what they were really backing away from.


	6. Chapter 6: Monsters

_Find yourself a new frontier_  
_Cause life is going, going gone_  
_Fly yourself away from here 'til you're clear_  
_Before it's going, going, gone_

_Say it loud and in the light_  
_For it's going, going gone_  
_Shake the hands, the hands that pick people fight_  
_Cause life is going, going gone_

_Yes I'll find you and cut you down_  
_Friends and neighbours, sleepy town_  
_If you wake up before the blow_  
_Pick your face up_  
_We come, we go_  
_We live until we live no more_

Kings of Leon - Frontier City

* * *

Chapter 6: Monsters of Pandora

My ears flattened against my head as I stared up at the creature. I wanted to sought out Jake's hand but I knew there was no time for sibling comfort. This was a life or death situation.

Third POV:

The Thanator hissed, launching it's six legs over the avatars to snack on the large prey cowering in fear. It released an ear-splitting roar as it's prey was no longer available, lining themselves up so they made a barrier. The Thanator whirled around and locked eyes on the two bodies that were readily available. It's large jaws opened and it roared once more.

"Run or hide?" Lara questioned, breathing heavily.

"Both!" Grace yelled.

Lara pushed Jake backwards towards the direction of the trees and started to run. The Thanator roared and leaped after them. Lara lead the way, jumping through small crevices to make it difficult for the Thanator to gobble them up. The two scrambled up, over and around the tangle of roots on the forest floor as they avoided the creature.

She screamed as it's claws slashed behind her, catching on the back of her shirt before locking place in a tree. The creature released it's claws and leaped airbourned over a section of roots as the siblings dove under a tree to seek protection within the roots. The Thanator clawed through the roots as they ducked and rolled from the blade like objects.

It let out a bellow and slammed it's jaws into the tree, snapping inches from Jake and Lara. They grabbed their guns and shot at the thing, and Lara only wished it was that easy to kill one of these panthers from hell. The Thanator let out a pained wail and grabbed their guns from the two marines.

Jake pushed Lara first out of the tree, but got caught in the backpack by the creature. Lara crawled out of the tree quickly and watched as the creature dangled her brother by his backpack. She dropped her's, rolling her shoulders and threw a rock at it's head. The rock hit it's target and hit it in the jaw, allowing the creature to loosen his hold slightly. Jake unlatched the his backpack and immediately started running.

They got a head start before it realised what had happened. Lara ran like hell, glad for all the marine and avatar training before this. Sure she didn't pay attention in the avatar training but god was she thanking it now. It was a good thing she did track and gymnastics in high school, too.

She ran faster when she heard water run and she leaped off, crossing her arms over her chest so she landed safely. She just hoped it wasn't shallow water, or they were screwed. She plummeted into the water and for a moment she let the icy cool wash over her sweaty, tired body. It felt good, and she burst up from under the water and took a deep breath.

Jake shot up and grabbed her hand before pushing through the fast-moving water and grabbed onto a limb of a fallen tree. He wrapped his arm around her waist and helped her gain her bearings as she closed her eyes for a moment to lean her forehead against the tree. She feebly pulled herself out of the water and dragged Jake with her, breathing heavily.

His head landed on her chest, panting for breath. He listened to her fast-pacing heart and closed his eyes, trying to relax from the momentary brush with death. The Thanator roared angrily and she tiredly raised her middle finger to flip the bird before allowing it to rest against Jake's chest in a limp manner.

"Fuck," he muttered.

"Tell me about it," I replied, exhausted. "We should get up, it's getting dark."

"Five minutes."

"Good idea."

Lara's POV:

After the half-hour of gaining our breath and balls, Jake and I seeked solace from under the large leaves of the forest. He slammed his foot against one of the long sticks, snapping it until it fell limply from his upright position. It reminded me of bamboo, but I have been mistaken before.

I grabbed my knife and sliced the edge of one until it became sharp enough as a long range defensive weapon, twirling it like a baton for a few moments.

When it reached night, nothing was going right. Every sound, creak or movement made either of us jump and we were officially being stalked. I could see them jump through the trees and smooth camouflage themselves from me. There were a lot of them – a pack, maybe – and they were following us while cackling slightly like hyenas.

"We need light," Jake said before ripping off his overshirt and tied it around the blunt edge of our madeshift spear. I sighed and did the same reluctantly. He glanced around for a bit before dipping the edge into a small pool of tree sap and lighting up. He grabbed his packet of water-proof matches and lighted the sap-covered edges to create flames.

"Back to back," I told him before moving into the position with the flamed edge of my spear facing outwards from me. I swiped the torch slowly, watching from the back as the creature lit up under the flames. "How do you feel about running?"

"We should've done it long ago," he responded.

I swivled and ran, pushing past the trees. The cackles became louder and more excited, as if a chase was what they wanted all along.

Fuck.

I could hear them in the trees, waiting for the opportune moment to swoop down. Jake grabbed my hand and forced me to jump across the stream of water that broke apart the large meadow. We went back-to-back once more and spun in small circles to search the perimeter.

I was looking for a weak spot. A part of the circle where we could escape. There was a reason I was a marine.

The creatures of the night barked and cackled at each other, communicating. One yelped happily and charged straight at me, but whimpered as I whacked it in the face with the torch. There must've been at least twelve to twenty five of them. Another growled on Jake's side and it attacked as well.

It was as if they had a game plan, a tactic to weaken it's prey.

One prowled in the silhouette of my torch and I saw what they were. They were six-limbed, sleek black skin with claws, sharp, black teeth that protuded from bone white gums.

I hissed at them, baring my fangs. These Na'vi must've had feline features because we had fangs and cat-like ears. I might die tonight, and the realisation made me want to fight more. Clenching my jaw, I twirled the torch into an arch to keep them at bay.

A shot of adrenaline pulsed through me and my fear of dying disappeared. "Come on, you little monsters! If you're gonna kill me, do it now! Come on!"

* * *

**You know the drill guys! :) Read and Review**

**PS: You'll get a gawd-awful great tasting pixelated cookie if you do :P**


	7. Chapter 7: Ignorance sucks in this world

_Well, it's midnight, damn right, we're wound up too tight_  
_I've got a fist full of whiskey, the bottle just bit me_  
_Oh, that shit makes me bat shit crazy_  
_We've got no fear, no doubt, all in balls out_

_We're going off tonight to kick out every light_  
_Take anything that we want, drink everything in sight_  
_We're going till the world stops turning_  
_While we burn it to the ground tonight_

_We're screaming like demons, swinging from the ceiling_  
_I got a fist full of fifties, tequila just hit me_  
_Oh, we got no class, no taste, no shirt, and shit faced_  
_We got it lined up, shot down, firing back straight crown_

Burn it to the Ground - Nickelback.

* * *

Chapter 7: The Na'vi think we're children. Psh

"We don't have all night!" Jake yelled, swiping his torch.

They snarled and attacked us once more, except they all joined in. I hit one like it was a baseball and spun to swipe another. Jake and I backed each other up – if one of the creatures blindesided one of us, the other would get rid of it. Vice versa. I pierced my spear through one of the monster's leg while another gripped my spear and threw it into a tree.

I groaned as the spear smashed into the tree and it was destroyed.

I pulled my knife out of it's hilt at my hip and slashed my way over to my brother, who was on the forest floor. The knife made it's way through the creature's shoulder and it yelped in pain, falling off my brother. A scratch was on his face but it was not bleeding very heavily.

Jake grabbed my offered hand and allowed me to pull him up. I took my knife out of the creature and fought the others, attempting to ignore my brother's verbal discomfort.

Finally, I turned my back on the creatures I was fighting to assist my brother – bad idea. One leaped at my back and pushed me to the ground, snapping it's jaws while it struggled on my chest and neck. I gripped it under it's neck to draw out the attack, hoping my face wouldn't get destroyed from the razor black teeth.

I felt a whoosh of wind and the creature slumped on my chest, almost cuddling me. I lightly pushed the creature to the side, lying it on the forest floor softly. Above me, a Na'vi woman emerged from the trees with a graceful leap, shooting at the creatures. She cracked her bow over the skull of one of the creatures, and dug her knife into another's chest as it leaped at her.

Then, I was circled by three viperwolves in my position on my knees. I punched and slapped them, but I didn't want to kill them. They were just hungry creatures, and we were easy prey. But, I didn't want to die. I punched one just in time as it pounced towards me, and they ran off.

The Na'vi woman hissed threateningly at them as they cowered away, making her body look more intimidating then usual.

I took a deep breath and ran my fingers over my hair, watching as my brother choked one to death. He panted and released the wolf, glancing over at the woman. Her tail was lashing as she watched the tree line. I listened to the fading yelps of the creatures and breathed a sigh of relief as it finally quietened.

She stared at us coldly and distinguished Jake's torch in the stream, ignoring his protests. As soon as the torch light was gone, the forest seemed to come alive with colour. The Jungle lit up with luminescent light of spots and patterns, ghosts and galaxies. Reds, greens, blues, oranges and yellows melded together into one magnificent array. It was one of the most beautiful, spectacular places I had ever seen.

I never wanted to leave this place, it was too magnificent.

The Na'vi woman ignored us as she moved over to the wailing creature, paws in the air as it wailed in anguish. I felt sympathetic to the creature – it was rather marvelously designed and quite beautiful once you get over the fact that it tried to kill me.

"Look, um, I don't know if you can understand this but we would like to say thanks," Jake said. "We owe you one."

She continued to ignore us and muttered to the creature in her native language, pushing the knife deeper into the animal before ripping it out quickly.

"Yes, thank you," I agreed gently. "I don't know what would've happened if you hadn't shown up and saved us."

The woman rose and pushed past us, showing no recognition of our existence.

"Hey wait! Where you goin'?" Jake called, grabbing my hand before chasing after the mysterious woman.

Oh, goodie.

"Hey, slow down a second," he continued, catching up with her. "I just want to thank you for -"

Before he could even touch her shoulder, she whirled and slammed her bow into him. Jake fell back on me with a groan.

She growled, "Don't thank. You don't thank for this! This is very sad, very sad only." She spoke English, albeit accented and halting, but it was easy to understand her. Grace must've taught her to speak English back at that school.

"Okay, I understand. And I'm sorry," I said softly, trying not to anger the native even more.

"This is your fault! Both of you! They did not need to die!" she spat, gesturing to the dead creatures.

"They attacked us," Jake defended, "so how are we the bad guys here?"

The woman silenced him with her bow aimed at his throat. "You're fault! Like babies, making noises, don't know what to do. You sky people should not come here! You only come here and make problems."

"Okay, fine, you love your little forest animals," he retorted.

I sighed and pushed past him so I was facing the woman.

"Listen, we're sorry. But if this is our fault, then why'd you save us? Why not let them kill us?" I asked curiously, crossing my arms over my chest.

She hesitated before meeting our gazes. Her eyes were a bright, brilliant gold colour that contrasted greatly over her cyan skin. She was actually quite beautiful once you thought about it.

"Why save you?" she echoed warily.

"Yeah, why save us?" Jake repeated.

"You have strong hearts – no fear," she replied and leaned closer to Jake, a sneer forming. "But stupid! Ignorant like a child."

The woman then turned and stalked off, leaving Jake and I to follow.

This following thing was about to bug me, but my curiousity ruled over my annoyance. When we caught up to her, she was stepping lightly along a large strip of root. It formed a sort of elevated walkway and she walked across it gracefully like a dancer.

I looked down and saw the forest floor like I was in New York, staring down from a skyscraper.

"If we're so ignorant, maybe you should teach us," Jake called, catching up to us quickly.

She turned and almost hit me in the face with her 'ponytail'.

"Sky people can not learn. They do not _see_," she responded, emphasising the word 'see'.

The Na'vi woman then jumped onto the twin root that was elevated parallel to the one we were walking on. We followed her, unsteadily. I still wasn't used to being this high off the ground without being in a plane.

"Then teach us to _see," _I said, using my hands to keep balance as I crossed the great treevines.

She suddenly stopped, and I almost ran into her and Jake as we stopped behind her.

"No on can teach you to see," she explained. She wasn't looking at us, but the phantasmagorical lights of the jungle behind us. A waterfall, light blue, almost silver in colour ran down off the edge of the cliff type gorge to fill up a large pool-like river below.

She continued onwards, leaping forewards over a gap to land on a root about the size of an ordinary oak tree from Earth.

"Hey, slow down!" Jake yelled, running faster. I sighed and followed. "I think we just got off the wrong foot and you just have to get to know us. I'm Jake. Jake Sul-" His spear caught on a vine and it spun him off balance. "Oh, shit!" He slid off the root and dangled in the air as he gripped onto the root.

The Na'vi woman and I grabbed his biceps, using strength to lever him upwards. As he stood upright, she started yelling in her native language as I yelled in mine, English.

Finally, I took a deep breath and turned to the woman, "We need your help."

"You should not be here," she muttered, stepping back.

"So take us with you," Jake said, stepping foreward.

She shook her head. "No. You both go back. Y-" The woman cut herself up and glanced up, staring at the air with an almost amazed expression.

I furrowed my eyebrows and followed her eyeline to see white, jellyfish-like creatures float down towards Jake and I. They danced around our head and shoulders, landing with an almost feather touch. I spread my arms and the creatures followed, resting themselves out in a line. They floated around our upper bodies, settling themselves on the space offered.

"What are they?" Jake asked.

"Atokirina. Seeds of the great tree – very pure spirits," she explained and gave us a look of amazement, and dread. I wasn't too sure about the last one.

Curiously, I moved my hand until it was up to my eye-line, watching the seed float on the open palm for my observation. I studied it for a while until they floated into the darkness like a flock of birds.

"What the hell was that?" I said, staring after the glowing, white seeds.

The Na'vi woman grabbed Jake's hand and barked, "Come! Both of you!"

* * *

**Hi, you know the drill. :P**

I just want to apologise for deleting the original. It was a real doofus move, and i regretted it immediately after that button was pushed. But, i do hope you have been enjoying this story even though i haven't been getting the same response i did get from the original :)

Anyways, enjoy your holidays you aussies on this site...and i wish you guys the best for the new year.

3 xx


	8. Chapter 8: Hometree

Chapter 8: Hometree

_I don't remember a moment I tried to forget_  
_I lost myself, is it better not said_  
_I'm closer to the edge_

_It was a thousand to one and a million to two_  
_Time to go down in flames and I'm taking you_  
_Closer to the edge_

_[Chorus:]_  
_No I'm not saying I'm sorry_  
_One day maybe we'll meet again_  
_No I'm not saying I'm sorry_  
_One day maybe we'll meet again_  
_No no no no_

_Can you imagine a time when the truth ran free?_  
_The birth of a song, the death of a dream_  
_Closer to the edge_

_30 Seconds to Mars - Closer to the Edge_

* * *

Jake quickly dragged my hand and pulled me with them, deeper and further into the forest. Like a child I used my free arm to play with the plants in my view, allowing them to bright up in bioluminescent colour. Everything was alive with colour! We ran across a bed of purple moss that reacted to the pressure of our feet by lighting up under us in bursts of green light.

We ended up lower on the forest floor and ran across the large roots the connecting trees offered.

"What's your name?" Jake asked curiously.

I heard a harsh wind sound from behind me before I was roughly slammed off my feet by a thick rope. I landed hard on the forest floor, groaning as the air was taken away from me. Jake narrowly missed me as he fell, landing inches from me.

I pulled myself up and ripped the rope from my legs, ready to run. Before I could, several Na'vi on horse like animals thundered towards us. I heard Na'vi horde in behind us, and saw the arrows aimed at my brother and I. The men on the horses had their ponytail linked with the antennae of the creatures, and I was curious once more.

Curiousity did kill the cat after all.

The Na'vi woman yelled at them in her language, and one barked back. He seemed to be a leader like figure, because he was ordering the other Na'vi around.

Finally, the man barked an order to the others and they grabbed us, following after the men on their horses. We were hauled towards a large village, centered around a two hundred and fifty metre high tree. The Na'vi forced me into a march like walk, pushing me through the village as people stared at the two 'aliens'.

The villagers followed after us to see what was going on. Women, children, old, young – it was a tribe. I had to fight back a smile from watching the Na'vi children stare at me with wide eyes.

My expression turned to one of awe as we entered the base of the tree, large spiralling pullers twisting inside to create staircases. There were skulls all around the room, illuminated by the flying blue insects that hovered inches above our heads.

In front of us, there was a authoritive looking man, staring at us with anger. He was wearing a chest mantle that was designed with sharp claws, which intimidated me further with his chiselled, stern features.

The woman who saved us spoke to the man, and seemed to be having an argument with him.

"Uh, what's going on?" I muttered to her, leaning close.

She turned to me and replied, "My father is deciding whether or not to kill you and your brother."

"Your father?" Jake exclaimed before stepping foreward. "Uh, good to meet you, sir."

There was a collective gasp and the hunters that had grabbed us grappled with him again to obviously restrain him, shouting. A loud, female voice boomed through the large room in Na'vi. I bit my lip and looked up along with everyone else and saw a haughty, wise woman wearing an elaborate outfit.

She reminded me of a matriarch in the Native American tribes I had to study in high school. Everyone hushed as she spoke and distanced themselves from Jake and I.

"That is Mother. She is Tsahik - the one who interprets the will of Eywa," the woman explained, keeping her eyes on her mother.

"Who's Eywa?" Jake asked.

She said nothing but kneeled for the elder woman as she passed and seemed to survey us. I felt her run her fingers over my tail and ponytail, or queue if you will.

"What are you called?" the woman asked, her voice heavily accented. More than her daughter's.

"Lara Sully," I replied.

"Jake Sully."

She nodded, pulled a sharp thorn from her outfit and struck Jake's chest before tasting it . I winced as she did the same to me.

"Why did you come to us?"

"To learn," Jake replied and he made eye contact with me to say, 'I'll explain later, okay? Just agree with me.'

"We have tried to teach other Sky People. It is hard to fill a cup which is already full," she explained, her mouth pulling up in a sneer.

I laughed at the prospect. "Believe me, our cup is anything but full. Trust me."

"It's not like we're scientists. Just ask Grace Augustine," Jake agreed, shrugging.

"What are you?"

"Marines," Jake answered. "Uh, warriors – apart of the Jarhead clan."

I bit my lip to stop my laughter and made eyecontact with the man who was fighting with 'ignorant child' girl, taking a moment to stare at him. He was quite handsome, almost gorgeous with his rugged features and siweny muscles. But by the sneer he was giving me and my brother, I didn't think we were going to be good friends anytime soon.

He spoke in his native language with an obvious arrogant manner, smirking. Oh great, we had our own arrogant jerk of this drama. Just what I need.

The leader said something back at him.

I really needed to learn this language so I didn't feel like such a wanker when they had a conversation.

"What is going on?" I mumbled to Jake, watching them.

"No idea."

The matriarch turned to the woman who saved us, ignoring her screaming protests and then turned to the arrogant jerk. As she spoke, he turned to me and pointed a finger almost in disgust.

What the fuck? I had no idea what was going on!

The two Na'vi that the matriarch had spoken to were now glaring at us.

"My daughter will teach you our ways," she said to Jake. "Learn well, Jakesully." She turned to me. "And you, Larasully, will be taught by our finest warrior. We will see if your sanity can be cured."

I took a glance at their 'finest warrior'. He was staring at me with an angry expression, his jaw clenched. Well, shit fuck to this bull. He stepped foreward towards me and grabbed my arm before pulling me away from the tree.

My suspicions were confirmed. We were _so _not going to get along any time soon.

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**Hey Guys! Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to you all :) I've been busy but now i'm free to update and write to my own free will...**

**Thankyou to all of you who have stuck by with my complete retarded ways, and i hope that you are enjoying this story. **

**Cheers, Mates. **

**xx**


	9. Chapter 9: Tsu'tey the Neanderthal

**I'm soo sorry about the long update...you have total right to kick my ass. :P It's just a hectic holidays, and THEN i'm now in year 10 and it's a whole other whirlpool for me. Last year I was slacking off but _now _i've decided to be a 'better' student so this year is going to be a lighter updating system. HOPEFULLY, I'll be able to multitask this because i do love this story and all the unfinished files i have on the ol' laptop here. **

**Thank you for all your reviews, but I'd specifically like to thank Mizuki Assassin of the Mist because she got me back into righting :). Haha and i apologise to you for not telling you, but it was a definite accident on my part. **

**Enjoy the chapter guys! Oh, and please review, i do enjoy hearing what you have to say even though you've probably read the story before **

**3 :D**

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Chapter 9: Tsu'tey the Neanderthal.

"So, what's your name?" I asked, trying to sooth the tension.

"Do not speak," he replied with a baritone voice. I quite liked it.

"Ohkey dokey," I chirped happily and allowed him to drag me along. Inside, small chuckles developed in my throat as I saw his frustrated and annoyed look towards me at my words.

He lead me into a hut where there were clothes like the other Na'vi woman. The man left to change, thankfully, and waited outside until I was ready. I changed into something like the woman that saved me. It was unbelievably revealing and I felt naked.

"Okay, I'm done," I announced and stepped out. "You need to tell me your name or else this training thing ain't gonna go too well. You understand?"

"Tsu'tey te Rongloa Ateyitan," he said finally, growling under his breath.

"Mouthful. Now, I'm just going to call you Tsu'tey," I concluded. "Nice. My name is Lara, by the way."

"I do not care," he told me before gripping my arm and pulling me off again.

"You know, just for future preferences, I do need my arm and I do have the ability to lead and follow. So, if you would let my arm go I'd appreciate it," I rambled, wrenching my arm from his hand.

He simply growled and led the way.

We reached the second level of the tree to see the Na'vi villagers eating in a circle around a huge campfire. They stopped talking as I entered and my eyes widened at the attention.

"Hi," I said weakly befor I was dragged off into one section of the circle. Tsu'tey plopped me down on the floor and walked off to grab food.

My stomach was ready to be filled, and it was not shy in expressing it. He returned with several large leaves stuffed with food and he placed them in front of us.

"Eat," he muttered and dug in.

I shrugged and joined him, paying attention to the long, white things on the plate

"These are really delicious," I commented, taking another bite. "What are they?"

"Dinicthoid larvae," he responded, smirking.

My jaw locked and my chewing stopped, a disgusted look beginning to make it's way to my face. I coughed for a second before swallowing it.

"Nice," I rasped and took a glance at him. There was a challenging look on his face. I ignored my gag reflex and grabbed more, shoving them in my mouth. "Oh yeah, that's good Dinicthoid. Just like good ol' grandmamma used to make back home."

His smirk dropped for a moment before he raised the leaf to me, pointing at the long, white tube like tentacles that rested on the edge of the plate. "Eat."

"Will it kill me?" I asked hesitantly, running my tongue over the root of my mouth to stop the vomit from coming up.

"We will see, won't we?"

I fought a laugh and picked one up angrily, examining it before shrugging and ate the thing. It wasn't that bad, a bit chewy though. "Not bad, chewy," I concluded, staring at him triumphantly.

"So you can eat Lonataya tentacle and fish larvae," he brushed off. "What about Teylu – beetle larvae. If you are so cocky, eat it."

I rolled my eyes at his challenge and grabbed a handful, shoving it down my throat. I ignored the 'larvae' bit and thought of chicken. It tasted a lot like it, so it wasn't hard.

Tsu'tey stared at me, shocked, for a few moments before he stood. "Come now, it is time to sleep."

I left the leaves on the ground and bolted after him, not used to this kind of treatment. I mean, I haven't deserved this crap, right?

"Where am I sleeping?" I asked curiously, wandering beside him.

"Come," he barked and took me up the spiraling staircase of hell to the near-tops of the tree, where all the other Na'vi were laying in hammocks.

"Cool," I breathed and followed him to where his hammock was, hopping into the one beside him unsteadily.

"We start training tomorrow, sky devil," he said to me before pulling the hammock's edge around him.

I sighed and did the same, curling up like a child inside the closing cuccoon.

As my eyes closed, my link was disconnected and I was brought back to reality. Norm was above me, yelling obviously. The sound of this world came muffled at first, but it soon cleared as Norm started to slap my cheek lightly to wake me up.

"Come on, Lara. Wake up," he was saying.

I shot up, wincing. "Oh," I breathed, blinking a couple of times.

"You alright to walk?" Norm questioned, propping me up.

I nodded and he helped me into a standing position before leading me over to Grace.

"Damn, you two were dug in like a tick," Grace commented as I reached her and Jake. "Are the avatars safe?"

Jake and I gave each other a grin.

"Yeah, Doc," Jake said, "and you are not going to believe where we are."

"Well, why don't you tell me, numb nuts," Grace replied, raising her eyebrow.

"The Na'vi clan," I told her, grinning excitedly.

Grace's eyes went so wide I thought she'd explode. "Tell me you're joking."

"Nope," I said, popping the 'p'.

"Oh my god," Norm breathed.

Max gave me a much deserved high-five, which made me grin.

"What were they like?" Grace asked excitedly, and I smiled. She was like a child on christmas speaking about the Omaticaya clan.

I explained our trip to the Hometree and she hung on every word. I quite enjoyed speaking about them, it was an amazing place.

"Okay, bedtime," she announced finally. "Wake up early, though. You need to get back in there. They have an early schedule."

I sighed and walked into my assigned room. I had a shower, changed and fell asleep to the memories of running through the bioluminescent jungle right outside Hell's Gates.


	10. Chapter 10: Blue and Opal

Chapter 10: Blue and Opal

During breakfast, Grace had explained what had happened in our escape at death from the evil beastie of doom, the Thanator. I rolled my eyes; the events that took place in the forest of Pandora wasn't something I'd publicly want to admit.

"It's not something you can teach," Jake boasted.

I snorted. Of course it was something that many could teach, the navy for example, marines...Whatever. The scientists that sat with us clapped our shoulders in congratulations.

"That's awesome, guys," Max said with a wide smile.

I smiled back. Next to me, however, Norm was silently fuming. My smile immediately dropped and I rubbed his shoulder sympathetically. I knew why he was so mad – he had trained for many years, learnt the language and dreamt to be in our position. Then, the Sully siblings came along and got a free in-pass with the natives. I brought my gaze to Jake and gave him a warning glare.

"For reasons I cannot fathom, the Omaticaya have chosen you two. God help us all," Grace announced.

After a rather annoying chat with Parker and Quaritch, it was time to go back into the world of Omitacaya. Grace followed after us and showed us pictures of the clan as we headed over to the link.

"Tsu'tey," I answered immediately as his picture popped up.

"Mo'at," Jake said as the matriarch's face was visible. "Eytukan," he continued.

"He's the clan leader," Grace informed us, and then flipped through to Mo'at. "But she's the spiritual leader. Like a shaman."

"Cool. Now, who's Eywa?" I asked, biting my lip.

"Who's Eywa? Oh, only their deity. The Great Mother. The goddess made up of all living things. You'd know that if you had any training whatsoever," Norm snapped, pushing past us.

I gazed after him with a sigh. It wasn't our fault that we happened to stumble across a rather pissed off Na'vi girl who then lead us to her home, but I never wanted my new friend angry with me.

Jake hauled himself up onto his link. "Who's got a date with the Chief's daughter?" he shot back, smirking.

"Well, I gotta date with the best warrior. So take that, bro," I said, popping my shoulders.

"Knock it off. Jesus, it's like kindergarten around here," Grace muttered as I lay down in my link bed.

I awoke in the hammock and gazed up at the hometree – I could wake up to that marvelous view every morning. With a sigh I left the hammock and ran down the carved 'staircase' that lead into the village. I almost instantly looked around for Tsu'tey; hopefully he hadn't forgot him, or I'd surely be screwed.

"Where is he?" I whispered to myself.

"Demon." It was a distinctly deep voice. "Training starts now."

I turned to see Tsu'tey smirking evilly at me, and held two reins in his hands.

"And how does this training start?"

He just gave me a mocking grin and started walking. "You keep up, or not bother. Not my problem," he called over his shoulder.

I groaned. This sucks...

We reached a small patch of land, one of which had a small pool of water at the edge where the horse-creatures were drinking from with their frog like tongues.

"What are these anyway?" I asked curiously, rubbing my hand over it's back softly. I always had a soft spot for animals.

"_Pa'li," _Tsu'tey replied shortly, and stood closer to me. "To ride _Pa'li, _you must make the tsaheylu." His tone turned quiet at the end and patted the _Pa'li. _

"Um, no reason for offence, but do I have to call it _Pa'li_? Do you have a 'sky _demon'_name for it?" I questioned.

"Direhorse is what that Doctor woman call them," he said. "Get upon Opal."

I sighed and hopped onto the horse, hooking my feet on the built in stirrups they seemed to have. It felt comfortable to be on Opal, and I gripped an antennae nervously. With a quick movement I made the tsaheylu, and everything turned fuzzy for a moment. I could feel the connection that blended through my queue and into my brain. It was as though the feelers branded themselves on my brain, and I could hear almost everything. I gasped.

Tsu'tey stared up at me, no longer angry and demanding, but quiet and calm. I liked this side better than his 'follow, or be left behind, demon from hell' side. It was a nice change. "This is the _tsaheylu_– it is the way we connect with the animals, the bond. Feel her, listen to what she listens, feel what she feels," he instructed, and softly rubbed Opal's nose. "You may instruct her from the mind, but for now you must speak your commands."

I smiled and said, "Go."

Opal moved foreward, but there was no bounce at all. I gripped the reins and swerved her right, allowing her to run through the shallow part of the water before positioning her so she came towards Tsu'tey. It was payback, it was cruel, but the look on his face as water sprayed over him was absolutely hilarious. I let out a snort of amusement and stared at his face with slow bubbles of laughter bursting from my throat.

"I..." I gasped out. "am...so...sorry.."

And then I exploded with laughter.

"It is not funny!" he roared and promptly glared at me. "You have skill on Pa'li, but now is not time to be cocky. Let us ride through the forest if you think you are all great."

I shrugged and the race began.

We soared through the forest on our direhorses, but he was a few inches in front. Tsu'tey had probably grown up on these things, where I had only just learnt how to ride this new form of horse. I had riden horses throughout my life, and even did competitions, but these direhorses were much faster and more agile than the everyday horse.

I shouted, "Jump!" just as a rather large tree trunk moved into my path, and Opal complied. She leaped over swiftly and continued, letting out a call of content. They reminded me of dinosaurs from Jurassic Park, a movie that was adapted from the hundred year old original. Tsu'tey ended up leading me to another clearing, and I saw Jake and his mentor on the other side.

"Come," Tsu'tey ordered me. I mimicked him childishly from behind but followed anyway.

We rode up to them, and I almost laughed at the sight of my brother. Mud covered his face and chest and he slowly wiped it off as he stood.

"Hey, bro," I said cheerily.

"Oh, hey," he replied and stood. "I see you can ride."

I nodded, and told him cheekily, "Well, you should've taken those horseriding lessons I took back on earth. But, no. You had to be a man! How's that treating you?"

Jake just rolled his eyes.

"You should go away," Tsu'tey blurted angrily.

"I knew you could speak English," Jake told him proudly.

As Tsu'tey spoke in his language to Neytiri, I muttered to Jake, "Yeah, and he does not stop talking. All I hear is 'sky demon' this, and sky demon that."

"You'll be fine," Jake reassured. "But if he hurts you, you tell me and i'll beat his ass." That was whispered to me, and luckily Tsu'tey couldn't hear.

"Let us go," the Na'vi male ordered and off we went, back to that damn clearing we came from.

As we reached the clearing, he demanded, "Now, you must think your orders to be a good rider. A good rider is silent but strong, and does not fall off like that demon."

I glared at him and snapped, "Hey, listen blue boy. That demon happens to be my brother and I will cut you if you say one more bad thing around me, got it?"

He just laughed, as if I was some child that was threatening to stomp on his toes.

"Asshole," I mumbled to myself. 'Bite him'.

Moments later, Tsu'tey let out a slight yelp of pain as Opal bit his finger.

"Oops," I said sheepishly. "My mind slipped."

He glared at me. "If you are going to be this annoying, then I will not mentor you. Simple as that."

"Fine," I agreed. "But, then you have to do the same. No more 'sky demon' or glaring at me every five seconds. Just calm training."

"Deal."

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**Uh huh. Yep. New Chapter after about four months... people who _actually _read this have every right to murder me, but do make it quick and painless :P **

**Usually my excuse would be school work, but even though it was the case, I felt absolutely no interest in the story. Then I stumbled upon it once more and decided 'eh, what the hell?' But I have written two more chapters after this so I will be updating either tomorrow or the next day.**

From the bottom of my heart, I hope you do enjoy this new version because I find it better and Lara isn't much of a mary-sue and dialogue stealer as she was in the original.

I would usually say BIG GREEN BUTTON! PRESS HIM! But since it no longer has a green button - do press the link below to review.

**As always, cyber cookies will be available. **

**PS: I think I have turned into a review whore, because i really don't care if you abuse me for my lack of updating, I love that feeling when people comment and tell me what they like and what they don't like. But don't turn it into a flame; all i will do is use it to warm my beetles and 'chicken'.**


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